Picture Books

To start off my Book-seller’s sneak-peek into the trends of the 2011 holiday season I thought I’d begin with picture books. And I’m happy to report that picture books are not dead! In fact, picture books sold wonderfully this holiday. The following is a re-cap of some of the hot books, trends, and requests that…

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed your turkey comas and tended to your Black Friday bruises and are ready for the big buying marathon of the weeks to come! Since I will be making quite a few holiday suggestions in the bookstore this season I thought I might share a few of my favorites with all of you…

Editors Debra Dorfman, Beverly Horowitz, Jennifer Hunt, Allyn Johnston, and Julie Strauss-Gabel all spoke on a panel at the 2011 SCBWI LA Conference about the current state of the children’s book industry. Big issues like self-publishing, e-books, and digital trends were discussed, but deep down it seems that content is king. The following is my…

Picture book author Tony Johnston has over 125 books for children in her repertoire! She was kind enough to speak at the 2011 Southern California SCBWI Writer’s Day and share her immense knowledge and insight. This was one of the most heartfelt talks I’ve ever been too. Johnston is passionate and moved by her responsibility…

It’s been awhile since I reported on a conference event, but never fear I’ve got lots of good information coming your way. I attended the 2011 Southern California SCBWI Writer’s Day this past Saturday with a variety of speakers from Susan Patron to Bruce Coville. Here’s a few quick take-away’s from the event: Susan Patron…

At the 2008 SCBWI LA Conference, author/illustrator Adam Rex shared the secret to creating 32 pages of awesome in a picture book layout. Follow these secrets to success to find your own inner illustration-diva: What Layout Choices Does the Illustrator Have? It is the illustrator’s job to create the page breaks in the manuscript. The…

Children’s book illustrator E.B. Lewis doesn’t refer to himself as a fine artist or an illustrator but as an Artistrator. He gave a keynote speech at the 2010 LA SCBWI Conference about his journey as both fine artist and illustrator, and the passion behind his craft. The following notes were taken during his talk: The…

Author M.T. Anderson spoke at the 2010 SCBWI LA Conference about why experimental literature is perfect or children, even more so than for adult literature. The following notes are from his breakout session on the topic. Also visit my previous post “What is Experimental Literature” where Anderson breaks down the different techniques and terms of…

At the 2010 LA SCBWI conference author M.T. Anderson dedicated a breakout session to the topic of experimental fiction and why it is important and relevant to children’s literature. As part of that talk he broke down the common techniques and terms used in experimental fiction, which are as follows: Experimental Fiction Techniques and Terms:…

Boy, do I have a bug-tastic treat for you all today! My SCBWI friend and now DEBUT AUTHOR, Lori Calabrese, has just published her first picture book: The Bug That Plagued The Entire Third Grade. Woohoo! Lori has also decided to make my blog a stop on her rockin’ bug-tabulous blog tour. She was kind…